Arts & Sciences PROJECTS is pleased to present American Desire, an exhibition of photographs by Brooklyn-based photographer Carl Gunhouse on view from January 10-23, 2011.

Gunhouse’s series explores the ironies behind the consumption-driven American dream. For decades, Americans have felt secure and confident that their hard work and sacrifice would reward them with well-deserved comforts: a spacious, nicely-appointed home in a safe, suburban neighborhood; roomy, luxury cars and SUVs to help them transport all the material things they desire from the malls and super-stores to their great rooms; and of course, luxury goods including sleek, flat-screen TVs, home exercise equipment, and deluxe, stainless steel, commercial-grade kitchen appliances.

Gunhouse has traveled across the United States for the past five years creating a portrait of American desire and the dire consequences these yearnings have wrought: a struggling economy, half-finished commercial construction projects, abandoned suburban cineplexes, and foreclosed homes in never-completed subdivisions.

Originally from suburban New Jersey, Gunhouse completed his undergraduate studies in European History and Photography at Fordham University. He earned an MA in American History at Fordham, and later completed the MFA program in Photography at Yale University. Gunhouse currently teaches photography at Montclair State University.